Sometimes a good deed goes unpunished
by wraithperfection
Summary: John Sheppard is in trouble because he's attempting to do a human thing.


**Sometimes a good deed goes unpunished** – by Wraithperfection

Notes

This is shamelessly "save Steve" fic simply because Steve was too gorgeous to die; this is my first SGA fan fiction, and second fan fiction all in all. English is not my mother tongue, so I thank my dear friend Kath for proof-reading and her suggestions; eventual mistakes are all mine; I only borrowed this gorgeous toys that are Sheppard and Steve to play with, so no copyright infringement is intended; I hope you'll enjoy and I am looking forward to your comments.

-sga-

The City of Atlantis

The meeting in the conference room was suddenly interrupted by the loud blaring of the alarm.

"And just when I thought we'd have one day without any emergency. " Colonel Sheppard sighed. Dr. Weir punched the com-link.

„Jerry, what's going on? "

„It seems there's some kind of malfunction in the water system regulation in the submerged levels of the city, Ma'am„, answered a nervous voice of the technical officer on duty, „ sea water has already started to flood the lowest levels...we need to stop it ASAP, otherwise the whole city might go underwater again. "

„As soon as you find what's causing this, report to me immediately. Weir out. "

„Perhaps there's something we can do? " McKay asked. Before anyone had a chance to say anything, Major Sheppard jumped up from his chair as if he just remembered something important. All eyes were instantly on him.

„Steve "he said aloud.

„What about the Wraith? " Elizabeth Weir asked her eyebrow up.

„He is _down there_ in the holding cell! We need to get him out! I'm going down, stun him and move him to another..."

At that point, Ronon stood up and growled „Let the damn Wraith drown, for all I care, it deserves far worse! " Ronon's face was full of hatred and anger.

„Well, I see it like this: we've put him...it...damn, I've put _him_ there, I named him, we spent some quality time together, oh, you know, talking queens and hives and...my point is, I can't just leave him there to drown!"

„Ha! After two weeks you spent „talking" to this life-sucking-mummy-maker, don't tell me you still believe you'll get some important Wraithy secrets and plans from it?" McKay rolled his eyes in mock despair.

„Hey! That hurt! "Sheppard made a face and gave Rodney a look. John was annoyed with the lack of support and understanding from his close friend.

„Well just so y'all know, Steve's recently winked at me, so, yeah, he's about to open up! " Sheppard exclaimed with the smug face.

"C'mon, John, what's so special about this Wraith anyway? Rodney was incredulous now, not understanding why his friend would risk his life for the men-eating-mind-reading alien. „Anyhow, there are plenty more where this one came from, you can always catch another one to play with! "

„I happen to like Steve 'cause...WHAT!? " The faces of his friends and Dr. Weir were grim now, their brows knitted in unison, and they were all giving him the same apprehensive look.

A com-link went alive and there was Jerry's voice again, addressing the Atlantis's leader „ Ma'am, we have pinpointed what and where the problem is, and my team is on its way, but the water is rising rather fast, we'll be racing against the clock".

Sheppard turned to Dr. Weir „I'm losing time, permission to join the tech team? He was serious now and by the way his jaw was set, very adamant.

John's friends all started to say something but Dr. Weir raised a hand for calm. It was obvious that Dr. Weir was not happy about the situation, but after a brief consideration, she silently nodded her head.

Sheppard was at the exit in a heartbeat and a split second later was running down the corridor towards the elevators.

-sga-

The Wraith was standing in the middle of the cell, tall and lean, his head tilted slightly down, long white lashes casting shadows on his fine facial bones. The lights in the cell illuminated Wraith's pale green face and his hair, cascading down his shoulders and back in sleek strands, giving its natural white color an "unearthly" bluish hue. Water was almost up to his knees, and slowly but steadily rising, when he heard the door swish open. He knew it was Major Sheppard even before he saw the human.

During the last two weeks that the Wraith spent as a prisoner in Atlantis, Major Sheppard had visited him every day. They had established some kind of greeting-questioning-pacing routine. Though Steve was bored with the „I am your death" game by the 3-rd day, but, though he wouldn't admit it, the mind games with the Major were actually the highlights of Steve's days. Because, as much as his guards were in the beginning fun to play with, making them see things that were not there, enjoying their anxiety and feeble attempts to hide their fear, it soon lost its charm. They weren't his match; they wouldn't look him in the eye...

But Major Sheppard did. Major Sheppard was different. He was everything the Wraith would never expect from his food: curious, brave, smart, strong willed and cunning... But still, he _was_ food...one Steve would love to get the opportunity to put his feeding hand on...

But with the Ancient's force field activated around the cell, the Wraith could only watch the Major with his olive-honey eyes, and try his best to hide how Sheppard's bouncy and spiteful energy, and tantalizing scent made him almost salivate, every time... The Wraith was surprised and furious at the same time, for the Major would not only stare back at him with the mischief in his gray-green eyes, but would intentionally come so very close to the cell bars, practically a breath away, baiting him with his words and closeness... Steve would have had to gather all of his inner strength not to jump (and yet again embarrass himself) at the hated bars in an attempt to reach the cocky human.

Sheppard was all too aware of Wraith's burning interest and the deep hunger whenever he met Steve's eyes...it was the kind of stare most humans would cower under and recoil in fear. The Wraith's intense stare suddenly reminded Sheppard of the python Kaa from „The Jungle Book". If you were unlucky to get caught by Kaa's hypnotizing eyes, there was no escape.

Standing still, with his tight black trousers and black, long overcoat (not to mention his pointed boots) wet above his knees, Steve was now watching the Major with his patented let's -study -the-mouse-before-slice it-up look.

„OK, let's not get over-enthusiastic here, Steve "Sheppard said with a smirk. „I only came to move you to other more...umm...waterproof accommodations".

Steve slightly tilted his head to one side, his eyes melted, honey-gold lava, and the all too familiar cranky expression unfolding around his mouth.

„I'm sorry, Steve, but with all this water rising, and all hell rising, I don't have time to play our nice games this time, so..." Sheppard raised a stun gun and was about to press the button for the force field to turn down and open the cell.

But just in that moment an eerie sound of metal creaking was heard, and suddenly a big panel in the floor, next to where Sheppard was standing, gave way under pressure from the gallons of water beneath. The water rushed in with such force that it swept Sheppard off his feet, submerging him for a few seconds. John flailed his hands to reach the surface, to catch the air...the stun gun got lost in the emerald dark water; the force field shimmered and went down…

And a few seconds were all Steve needed. The water wasn't slowing the Wraith at all. With a loud snarl, he leapt upwards and forwards in a single fluid movement, his hair a silver-blue glimmering swirl, and was on top of Major Sheppard just when he was emerging from the water, his eyes taking in the situation, but too late. Steve's strong fingers grabbed Sheppard by the collar of his tack vest, sharp talons scratching the skin, leaving red lines on Sheppard's neck.

The Wraith pinned Sheppard to the wall as if he weighed nothing... With the stun gun gone, his sidearm out of reach and practically useless, Sheppard was aware that the Wraith could kill him now in a heartbeat if he chose so... and to tell the truth, John couldn't remember anything that would or could work in his favor by Steve...All Sheppard could do was to hold on to Steve's wrists in a futile attempt to postpone the inevitable.

The Wraith angled his head and leaned in, his face so close to Sheppard's that all Sheppard could see were the Wraith's huge, intense, olive-honey eyes. Up close, those eyes actually were magnificent... _"Kaa's eyes_... _Crap!" _thought John.

The Wraith hissed an amused and at the same time triumphant hiss, baring the impressive array of translucent, jagged teeth in a creepy grin. He was obviously enjoying the moment.

„Major Sheppard, do you remember what my name is? " Steve asked with a glint in his eyes.

Sheppard blinked, and despite the gruesome predicament he was in, his brow went up in question. _The damn Wraith obviously wanted to play with his food first._ „Do you refer to Steve or you being my death? " Sheppard drawled out in a mock seriousness, accepting the game.

Steve angled his head a little more, and then tilted it to the opposite side as if he was triangulating his target. Sheppard gulped, his hands getting tired of holding onto Steve's wrists. Not that it helped, the Wraith was just too strong, even if he hadn't fed in a while.

„Now Major, what have I told you was going to happen when I was free? " Steve continued his interrogation with the purr of satisfaction escaping his finely shaped lips, the glint in his irises brightened.

„Umm...well, let's see..." Sheppard pretended he was genuinely trying to remember. Not that Steve bought it.

„It's easy, Major, I told you you'd be the first I'd feed upon. And now, I am free! "

Steve had a devilish grin now on his, by any race standards, handsome face. Sheppard had that sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Well, I thought we could let the bygones be bygones, huh? " John offered with a feeble smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"How foolish of you Major coming down here...you should not have felt pity for me! " _You should have left me to drown… And now... _

In a split second, Steve grabbed both of Sheppard's hands with his one, easily overpowering him, the finger guard splitting apart the Major's tack vest and under garment. With a hiss of anticipation, the Wraith laid his feeding hand on Sheppard's chest but did not press it down fully, didn't start feeding.

_But you did save my life! Why would you do that, Major Sheppard?! _For a moment, there was a strange, conflicting expression on Steve's facial features.

„It was a HUMAN thing to do, but I suppose YOU wouldn't understand THAT concept! " Sheppard shouted angrily, all pretenses gone.

He wasn't afraid, he was angry now, mostly at himself for being so stupidly „human" as to care enough to try to save the Wraith. _Legolas's evil doppelganger from Pegasus Galaxy who's now going to make a snack out of me as a "thank you"!_ _What was I thinking!? _

„What I do understand, Major", Steve's multi-tonal voice was strangely melodious and almost soothing now „is that humans are mostly irrational and emotional, weak... What YOU don't understand is that Wraith do not have a choice... the only sustenance I must take to stay alive is from humans...from such as you, Major Sheppard." Steve was staring intently into gray-green eyes that would not be intimidated. "And what did you want with me in the first place?! I told you, you only hastened your downfall by keeping me here…"

Steve's olive-honey eyes were measuring the human in front of him, his feeding hand still on his sternum, pressing Sheppard to the hard wall with no evident effort, sharp talons cutting into John's skin; a few beads of enzyme from the feeding slit sliding slowly down the man's chest - but the Wraith still didn't start feeding.

In the distance, the sound of the approaching group of humans could be heard; Steve could recognize the voice of the tall one, the runner, obviously leading the way. Steve's sensory pits flared as he picked up a whiff of a female pheromones...he remembered that one, with the long light red hair, the one who fought him with the sticks...if he had not hesitated, if only for a second, to feed on her when he had her pinned down, he wouldn't have been caught alive in the first place - Major Sheppard would have killed him on the spot.

_There is enough time to feed now, and to escape... _the Wraith mused. But there was that hint of conflict ghosting in Steve's eyes again.

John saw a strange glint in the Wraith's eyes, and closed his eyes expecting pain to finally come and bring oblivion. _My friends…will be too late... _thought Sheppard grimly, but a spark of defiance ignited in him one more time "_but if I have to go down, I'll go down swinging… "_

Abruptly, the pressure on Sheppard's chest was gone, his hands were freed, and he fell into the water as Steve turned and started towards the exit, his predator's strides strong and graceful despite the water engulfing him up to his slender waist.

Sheppard was clinging to a rail, completely soaked, his dark, spiky hair not so spikey now...He managed to catch the glimpse of Steve, giving Sheppard one last toothy grin before disappearing through the exit door, long strands of silky hair swishing behind him...

_You are one lucky human, Major Sheppard...until we meet again… _Steve was already making his way towards the gate room and his freedom.

John inhaled deeply, only now aware that he was holding his breath.

_Damn Wraith, not only did he hightail it out of here - he managed to do it without even getting his damn hair wet! _

End?


End file.
